News & Commentary:

March 2006 Archives

Articles/Commentary

Saudi Arabia: the sands run outMichael T. Klare (LaMonde Diplomatique) Mar 2006
Last month's foiled attack on a Saudi Arabian oil installation demonstrated yet again the world's extreme vulnerability to any check on oil supplies. But what if the Saudi oilfields are running lower on untapped supplies than the kingdom, and the West, have estimated?

U.S. Offshoring: Small Steps to Make It Win-WinDiana Farrell (McKinsey/EV) Mar 2006
How many U.S. white collar jobs will be lost to offshoring? Not as many as you think: as Diana Farrell explains, offshoring of white collar jobs is a limited problem that can be turned into a win-win with a few small steps.

The Central IdeaHarry V. Jaffa (WSJ) Mar 1, 2006
From the Claremont Institute: In Iraq as in America, there's more to democracy than majority rule.

Sell me yours, don't touch mineIHT Mar 2, 2006
It is often the case in international commerce that when a foreign country blocks you from buying their company, it's "protectionism," but when a foreigner comes shopping in your country, it's a potential threat to your "strategic interests." That seems especially true in Europe, where attempts to create a level playing field across the European Union keep running up against chauvinism, unions or simply ignorance.

Trade And the China CardWP Mar 6, 2006
Globalization scares people. Security threats scare people. By fusing these fears during the Dubai ports flap, demagogues have had a field day. Now, having demonstrated this formula, the demagogues are poised to strike again. Their next target will be arriving soon, in the person of President Hu Jintao of China.

WTO talks: Heading for another Potemkin agreementIHT Mar 9, 2006
Unless the talks this weekend address the key developing-country demands, it will be time to stop the pretense that the Doha Round is about development and admit that those countries are in the business of survival.

News Analysis: First the un-Clinton, and now the un-BushDavid E. Sanger (NYT/IHT) Mar 14, 2006
The president who made pre-emption and going it alone the watchwords of his first term is quietly turning in a new direction, warning at every opportunity of the dangers of turning the nation inward and isolationist, and making the case for international engagement on issues ranging from national security to global economics.

Don't blame the wild birdsIHT Mar 19, 2006
The spread of H5N1 did not begin with, or result from the activities of wild birds, but from a very human activity - trade.

Striving For Success: Growth, Globalization and Economic Policy ReformAnne O. Krueger (IMF) Mar 20, 2006
This conference comes at an auspicious time. It is now fifteen years since Russia and the other transition economies started the lengthy and challenging transformation from central planning to normally functioning market economies. Challenging, yes, and often very difficult for many of those countries and their citizens.

Plurilateral Services Negotiations Set To Start On 27 MarchBRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 10 Mar 22, 2006
The plurilateral approach to the WTO services negotiations is set to move into high gear, with negotiations between groups of demandeur and target countries to start from 27 March. The plurilateral process was jumpstarted with the submission of 22 collective requests for market access starting from 28 February, the target deadline set out in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.

New Zealand, Brazilian Fish Proposals Under FireBRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 10 Mar 22, 2006
During sessions of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules on 15 and 17 March, several Members criticised proposals put forward separately by Brazil and New Zealand for a fisheries-specific amendment to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

A Floundering WTO - Part IEdward Gresser (YaleGlobal) Mar 23, 2006
Without WTO agreement on reforms before April 30th, the hopes of fair trade for developing nations could be postponed indefinitely.

Making the most of the euroIHT Mar 24, 2006
Europe's economy is showing clear signs of recovery but tensions are building up within the euro zone that could blow the whole project apart.

Realism on China's currencyIHT/NYT Mar 28, 2006
The good news is that Senators Lindsey Graham and Charles Schumer have started to inch away from their misguided attempt to club China for its currency policies. At the end of a fact-finding trip last week, Schumer told reporters he was no longer sure he would push for a vote to impose tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States. "The jury is out," he said. But, he said, "we are more optimistic that this can be worked out than we were in the past."

Fukuyama's FantasyCharles Krauthammer (WP) Mar 28, 2006
It was, as the hero tells it, his Road to Damascus moment. There he is, in a hall of 1,500 people he has long considered to be his allies, hearing the speaker treat the Iraq war, nearing the end of its first year, as "a virtually unqualified success." He gasps as the audience enthusiastically applauds. Aghast to discover himself in a sea of comrades so deluded by ideology as to have lost touch with reality, he decides he can no longer be one of them.